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Emergency services were called, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest has been adjourned for enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the death to be carried out, but it is not being treated as suspicious by South Yorkshire Police.

A full hearing is expected to take place in April.

Paul Broadbent in 2012

Mr Broadbent spent much of his police career in South Yorkshire, having joined in 1985 after starting out as a constable in Cumbria, where he was born and grew up.

He became a District Commander in Sheffield, before leaving in 2010 to join Nottinghamshire Police as an Assistant Chief Constable.

After clocking up 30 years' police service, he retired in 2012 and joined the Nottingham-based Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (then called the Gangmasters Licensing Authority) as its chief executive to tackle modern day slavery and exploitation.

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Former police colleagues have expressed their shock at his death and paid tribute to him.

Robert McCann told the Sheffield Star: "I had the pleasure of working with Paul when he was District Commander of Sheffield police. He was a very forward-thinking man and some I greatly enjoyed working with.

"It was Sheffield's loss when he moved to Nottingham but he left a great legacy behind. I am deeply saddened by his passing."